The Life Of Christ #3 - He Died... Series

The Life of Christ

Part 3: He Died...

March 20, 2005

Palm Sunday

Introduction

This is our third message in a series on the life of Christ. So far we’ve talked about the fact that Jesus lived, and we discussed not events in the life of Jesus, but rather some things we can take away from what he modeled for us.

We took that approach last week as well, as we looked at how Jesus taught.

Today we’re moving along in this progression. We’re going to look at the death of Jesus, and what it did for us.

Author Calvin Miller said, "One cannot even begin to understand the life of Christ without understanding His death." (SermonCentral.com - Contributed by: Victor Yap)

We all know or at least have heard that Jesus died for us, but I want us to investigate that a bit further.

And it’s my hope that today you will gain a better appreciation for what actually took place all those years ago.

I want us today to look at four truths surrounding Jesus’ death that are crucial for us to grasp if we want to understand just what it is Christ did for us on the cross.

It’s very easy in our day and age to just go along with our lives as if nothing ever happened, and never give much thought to the fact that Jesus died and rose, and the real reasons behind Easter.

More people seem to be concerned about the Easter Bunny and what he might bring than about the fact that the Son of God was sacrificed for you and me.

My intention with this message is simply to review some things that are even sometimes easy for followers of Jesus to overlook and under-appreciate.

I don’t know that you’ll hear anything new today, but I’ve been a believer for a long time in the fact that some of the most important things in life need to be repeated time and time again.

They can become so routine that we don’t give them much thought. And so I hope that after you’ve heard this message, you’ll be shaken out of any "routine" understandings of Jesus’ death, and that you will touched anew in your spirit.

The first truth I want us to look at today is that...

He died SACRIFICIALLY.

What I mean by this is that his death satisfied the requirements of God’s law that sin required blood.

The Bible says in the book of Hebrews that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

In the Old Testament, it meant that the blood of goats, bulls, and lambs would take care of it.

But Jesus’ death paid that penalty for sins once and for all.

Look with me at this passage from 1 John:

1 John 4:9-10

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Circle the phrase, atoning sacrifice.

The Bible says that God hates sin - he’s angry about it and he’s angry at it. And he needs to pour out his anger because of sin.

The phrase atoning sacrifice means that Jesus’ death not only paid the legal penalty for our sins, it also means that he took care of God’s anger.

When God looks at you, if you have trusted in Christ as your forgiver, he is no longer angry at your sin. He sees the blood of his son, and the anger is taken care of.

So many people see God as some big cosmic meanie, just waiting to strike them down with a lightning bolt or something.

But let me tell you something. Yes, it’s true that God is angry toward sin, and that anger needs to be satisfied.

But the bottom line is that God loves you so much that he preferred to put his anger and wrath on his own son than on you.

At the end of the message, I’m going to tell you how you can avoid God’s anger for your sin, so make sure you’re paying attention, okay?

The second truth we need to grasp about Jesus and his death is that...

He died PHYSICALLY.

An old preacher was dying. He sent a message for his Doctor and his Lawyer, both church members, to come to his home. When they arrived, they were ushered up to his bedroom. As they entered the room, the preacher held out his hands and motioned for them to sit on each side of the bed. The preacher grasped their hands, sighed contentedly, smiled and stared at the ceiling.